Manchester Arena bomber gave Koran to taxi driver before attack, inquiry told

Salman Abedi gave a pocket-size Koran to a taxi driver and said "please pray for me, brother" just hours before he detonated his suicide bomb at the Manchester Arena, an inquiry has heard.

Abedi, 22, handed the gift over during the journey in which he collected a large rucksack containing the shrapnel-laden device from his city-centre flat and also visited a cash machine.

The bomber was dropped off at Manchester's Shudehill bus station and caught a tram to nearby Victoria rail station, before later in the evening of May 22 2017 he triggered the blast that killed 22 people and injured hundreds at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.

On Monday, taxi driver Tariq Nadeem told the inquiry into the attack he picked up Abedi on a fare from Piccadilly rail station at about 7.30pm.

He recalled Abedi asked him "are you a Muslim, brother" as he drove to the first destination at Granby Row.

Mr Nadeem said: "The first thing that struck me was, he looked very weak. My first impression was that this was someone who might have some mental health issues or some other health issues.

"He spoke in a very low tone, though he had good English ... the way he spoke was someone who was ill or, to be more precise, weak."

Mr Nadeem said he noticed the rucksack Abedi brought into the taxi from Granby Row was "very heavy" and it appeared he was "carrying it with a degree of difficulty".

He said: "I said to him 'it's too heavy for you, isn't it?' to which he replied 'I'm weak aren't I, brother'."

He said Abedi kept the rucksack strapped to his back throughout, including when he used an ATM en route to Shudehill.

Mr Nadeem went on: "As we were driving along High Street he said 'can I give you a gift, brother?'.

"He then handed me a copy of the pocket Koran. It was used, it didn't look brand new.

"I said thank you. Being Muslim, the Koran is very dear to us. I was very thankful to him and he said 'please pray for me, brother'."

Mr Nadeem said he had received gifts, including books, from customers, but never a Koran.

The men swapped names and Abedi said he was called Suleman, before the bomber told the taxi driver he was not travelling far but "only local".

The Manchester Arena Inquiry is scheduled to last until the Spring.